How do we become less dependent on electricity? There are alternatives – but they are not worth

An “energy” would cost more than the replacement of energy in case of blackout. But what happened to make the dark more time?

The Portuguese were surprised this Monday: we no longer remembered the abysmal amount of things we use in everyday life that depend on light.

At the Zap, there were several testimonies from people who could not get home due to the failure of the subway, or who lived on the 11th floor and had to walk, or who bought batteries because they were the only alternative to hear news. Or until they were surprised among banal tasks such as stretching their hair, passing soup or… doing news. Things we don’t even remember that we need light to do.

And may have been stunned to realize that several infrastructures had no alternative Even supermarkets closed largely due to lack of generators.

A, expert Jorge Vasconcelos assures that there would even be methods to be less dependent on light – “technically it is possible“, He says – but these do not pay.

This is because “there is no memory” of such a blackout, which happens “out there every 40 years”. Replacing energy systems would be too expensive. What would it need? One “Adaptation of electrical systems, with digitization”.

That is, it must be necessary to apply a kind of AI to electricity: “It means collecting a lot of information from the electrical system, the networks, the central systems, the critical points, and to have ability to process informationin order to anticipate potentially disruptive events and trigger mechanisms that allow to avoid situations. ”

It seems complicated, it is because it is – and the costs would not make up for a situation like this, which was resolved in hours. The simple alternative as “fast I think” – generators.

Energy dependence?

And the problem is deeper than the lack of alternatives, and much has heard on the street “why are we so dependent on what happens in France or Spain”?

It sounds like an outburst without much consideration, but this issue has some truth, and in fact Already in 2022 the Director General of Energy had predicted a risk of blackoutand that the electrical system of Portugal worked “about embers”. Why?

Portugal has been a major exporter of electricity, but currently matters 30% of the electricity it uses. Bringing it from Spain is cheaper. In 2022, this corresponded to 1,659 million euros. The country is even a pioneer in renewable energy, but these also have limitations (when there is no wind, winds do not work, and solar panels are inactive at night).

The same Director-General of Energy defended in 2022 a return to the period in which Portugal consumed its energy, and exported. Spoke in a “inconceivable and revolting” situation in which Portugal was dependent on Spain only for “group interests” economic.

Former Energy Minister Luís Mira Amaral also criticized the dependence of Spain, questioning the Closing in Portugal of coal centers. “In Portugal, only two centrals had a ‘Black Start’ capacity. I find it a shame, in such a country, there was a blackout at 11:30 and then we took so much time to replace the normality of the net,” he told.

However, according to the prime minister, Luís Montenegro, this blackout had nothing to do with energy dependence on our country, quotes the.

“We have the ability to produce and distribute energy, but we have a connection with Spain. When this event happened, it is true that we, for financial reasons, were importing energy from Spain because it was at a more competitive price, but even if it wasn’t the blackout in Spain would have had the same effect, the same consequence in Portugal, ”said Montenegro.

The role of dams

And what “naughty” the situation here were even the centers of Bode Castle and Tapada do Outeiro. The first is a hydroelectric plant, and the second natural gas.

These allow a service of black startwhich performs a Autonomous start without network voltage support. This system is particularly useful to the Portuguese when there is no possibility of energy collaboration with Spain.

And while Spain has the help of French and Moroccan networks, the unique Portuguese international interconnection is with Spain – which was only available to help the Portuguese in the late afternoon.

Thus, although the energy of the dams and other centrals is not primary, it can make Portugal subsist without external energy in emergency cases.

How long would we endure without light until collapse?

It depends on what we are talking about. At home, during a few days We could make use of some batteries that worked like power banks, but these would be limited. Don’t forget that The food would not end so easily: Hypermarkets have large warehouses.

Regarding the food in the refrigerator, the US Disease Control and Disease Prevention Center explains that Food in the refrigerator can handle 4 hours until they are no longer consumable, and whatever has in the freezer does not spoil 24 hours. Therefore, it does not need to waste what was in the freezer – if they are still frozen, the foods are good for consumption.

But not touches pharmaceutical products, For example, chaos could settle in a few days-generators exist, but they fail. Even without energy, cooling systems still subsist a few hours, but after that it is impossible to ensure that they are suitable for consumption.

Of course, in an overly negative scenario, our society could get ways to live several weeks without light, but it would be very difficult.